Improved calculations of the electronic and nuclear energy losses for light ions penetrating H and He targets at intermediate velocities

A review is given on the use of the coupled-channel method to calculate the electronic and nuclear energy loss of ions penetrating the matter. This first principle calculation based on an expansion of the time dependent electronic wavefunction in terms of atomic orbitals has been applied to evaluate the impact parameter dependence of the electronic energy loss, the stopping cross-section and the fluctuation is energy loss of ions colliding with H and He atoms at energies of 10 keV/amu to 500 keV/amu. The results have been compared to experimental data as well as to others existing models, local density approximation in an electron gas target, harmonic oscillator target treatment and first order plane-wave-Born approximation. (author). 63 refs, 11 figs